Lufthansa Group has raised its profit forecast for this year after almost doubling revenue in the key summer period.

The aviation giant, which also owns Austrian Airlines, Swiss, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings, said its total sales reached €10.1 billion in the quarter from July to September – up from €5.2 billion during the same period in 2021.

Lufthansa added that its “adjusted” earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) quadrupled from €251 million in 2021 to reach €1.1 billion for the third quarter of this year. This was despite the group suffering losses of around €70 million from strike action this summer.

“Based on the positive development in the third quarter, the current booking situation, which continues to reflect strong demand for air travel in the coming months, and the expectation of another record result from Lufthansa Cargo in 2022, Lufthansa Group is raising its forecast for the full year, excluding currently unforeseen circumstances,” said the company in a trading update to investors.

The group now expects to make an adjusted EBIT of more than €1 billion during 2022 thanks to the improved trading over the summer and forward bookings. The company had previously forecast EBIT of “at least half a billion euros” in 2022 in its half-year report published in August.

Lufthansa Group has seen its fortunes revive during 2022 and it returned to profit in the second quarter of the year. Lufthansa will report its full Q3 results on 27 October.

The company has also returned to being fully private after the German government sold its remaining stake in Lufthansa last month. The government had taken a 20 per cent shareholding in May 2020 to help the airline operator to survive during the pandemic.

Source: Civil Aviation Authority – Qatar